From Grace to Union

I came to end of myself in March 2003. I was completely exhausted. Since I became a believer in 1992 I had done my very best to live the Christian life, and I had agonizingly painfully experienced that I had undertaken mission impossible. I thus entered a deep depression. In addition there were unresolved issues from my past I had to deal with.

In retrospective I clearly see that God had me where He wanted me. The law had done its job and had led me to Christ. I was now in a position where God could reveal His grace without having me struggling against His love. Rapidly my faith in Christ’s finished work grew. I clearly understood that I had died with Christ at the cross and that I was dead to the law. I wasn’t under its dominion. In fact I never had since the day I accepted Him.

During the summer of 2009 the Spirit began taking me to new levels of revelation. I hadn’t merely died with Christ, but I was also resurrected with Him to live in an unbreakable union with Him. He applied two key verses in the scriptures to open my spiritual eyes:

To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. (Col 1:27)

I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me. (Gal 2:20)

An absolutely necessary prerequisite for those awesome truths to settle has been to lead me out of the organized church. Within its limited confines God would have had severe problems convincing me about His unfathomable grace and the almost inexplicable union life.

My settled position is that I am joined in one spirit with Him. I am a perfect manifestation of His divinity, and I am a partaker of divine nature. My life in the flesh I live as Him. I am as He is, and am set completely free to be a perfect expression of myself.

(Written March 2010)

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11 Responses to From Grace to Union

“My settled position is that I am joined in one spirit with Him. I am a perfect manifestation of His divinity, and I am a partaker of divine nature. My life in the flesh I live as Him. I am as He is, and am set completely free to be a perfect expression of myself.”
Wonderful!!

I can so relate to what you said about being “totally exhausted”. I came to the same point myself. In fact I told God I was handing back my faith…I couldn’t do it anymore! Looking back I think He had a merry twinkle in His eye because of course I couldn’t do it! But then, it seemed the end of the world for me. From death comes life though and I like you met grace face to face and it has been changing me from one degree of glory to another. I too have had to leave the organized church which was very hard at the time. Now I know that I am the church, living, breathing. I have to walk away from reading your blogs from time to time just to smile and savor the grace found in them!

Wow! You have really tasted Him and found that He is good! Thanks for sharing so beautifully from you own journey. I am filled with such gratitude when I learn about people like you who have been led perfectly to where you are now; full of life a joy!
Thanks for your wonderful words regarding my blog. You are affirming my dream by your lovely words! Thanks!

I know that everything you are saying is true. I am still in the process though. I haven’t experienced it like this yet. I do look forward to the revelation of Christ in me, as me, my life. Reading your testimony I understand that I can be myself, in Him. I don’t understand it all but I’m getting there. Thank you for your site.

Welcome Tony! I am glad that you visited and left a comment! Thanks! It is a wonderful thing when the Spirit settles us in what we have been given to see in faith. He will do it in His time. We just hold fast to what He has shown us. Yes, the lovely thing is that when we see this truth is that we boldly can be ourselves knowing that we are a right self, that our Father uses everything in our lives for His redemptive purposes. We are self-for-others-love despite appearances or feelings. That is the magnificent truth.
Thanks for your kind words!
Ole Henrik

Hello
I would like to agree with Tony’s comment above. I know that the Union with Christ and Galations 2 vs 20 has to be the way, and I know that I have to come to the end of muself. God is leading, for I found the thread of this Truth when I listened to Norman Grubb on Sermonindex. I had been asking God for the Truth as it was given to those who first heard the Lord, the real Truth not the truth that the world’s churches are preaching. Like I said I had been led to listen to Norman and afterwards asking God if what Norman had said was the Truth. I was in the kitchen one day talking to Jesus about these things and this word just suddenly came into my mind, ‘This is the way walk ye in it.’ I have been saying for some time that I don’t want religion but reality, but the revelation has to come from God by the Holy Spirit, I have read His letters in the Bible and now I would like to meet the person, for I am troubled everyday with my own inherent sinfulness, and long to enter into His rest. Tony every blessing to you in your desire for Him, my spirit is with you in your longing.
David

When I read how the Spirit confirmed the path you now were walking after listening to Norman I was deeply encouraged and it spoke confirmation to me too. Thanks for sharing that one and for sharing your yearning for life something which has led you into a wonderful faith journey. Concerning sin: Have you read my article “What is Sin”? Here is the link: https://crossingtheriver.wordpress.com/2011/01/22/what-is-sin/
Blessings to you, David!

Ole, that was me! I was working so hard I wore myself right into a depression. Thankfully through Norman Grubb’s writings and Christ As Us I stopped flailing and fell into the arms (and grace) of Jesus once again.

I have been studying this truth for many years, but I was trusting in myself not Christ. I have always been an excellent student, hard worker and trusted only in myself. The Lord had to bring me to the end of myself. In a three months time, it seemed that everybody hated me, I lost my job, health and my wife had a boyfriend. Suddenly all my idols were worthless. I began to trust Christ for Life it was all I had left and found that He is sufficient. My life is still upside down, but I have Christ the hope of glory inside of me and I have hope in that.

Seems that is the way He takes us all – when we have nothing left and come to the end of ourselves all we have is Him. Thanks for sharing your story and I am sorry to hear about what you have to endure. May things turn for you soon!

We Live in Romans 8

To put it briefly, Romans 7 is not the chapter in which the believer lives. We live indwelt By Christ in Romans 8. Romans 7 is when we forget that Christ lives in us, and we try to live – to fulfill the law – by our own strength. But independent self is sin, therefore the moment we forget the indwelling Christ, and try to live by independent self, sin is at work in us, and we are under its dominion. Therefore the point to remember is that as that chapter tells us, we are dead to the law; that means we are not independent people trying to fulfill God’s law. We are new people, with the Law-Giver living in us, Christ Himself. We only enter the bondage of Romans 7, when we forget that fact and we must learn to turn quickly by the cleansing blood to our abiding place in Romans 8.
(Norman Grubb)

Norman Grubb

Unforced rhythms of grace

"Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you'll recover your life. I'll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won't lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you'll learn to live freely and lightly."
(Matt 11:28-30, The Message)